Hunting From Behind Being a gamer is tough. We have to be responsible adults and do annoying things like go to work, or eat and sleep to support our gaming hobbies. Then we have to pay for other annoying things like bills and clothes and food in order to survive. What this leaves us with…
As mentioned before, the duality of the subject matter is impressive. It’s enough to make both a child and adult giggle for completely different reasons. Kids will find enjoyment in kicking around unsuspecting and helpless NPC’s to their heart’s content, and adults will find amusement at how much the main antagonist reminds them of Kim Jong-Un.
As I reflect on how amazing the video game collection I saw was and yearn over having my own collection someday, I fear with the way our industry is going that this is the type of collection that will slowly have fade to memory and become extinct.
Vane is an immersive, art driven third person puzzle/platformer and is the second game released by Tokyo based indie developer Friend & Foe Games. First debuted at PSX in 2016, and even featured on Sony’s main stage at PSX 2017, Vane is the ambitious result of three years of painstaking work by just five artists and programmers. The developers have sought to create the ultimate connection between player and world. Immersion breaking elements such as a heads up display, conspicuous hints or unnatural queues in the right direction have been altogether removed in an attempt to bridge the gap between those controlling the game and their discoveries. Progress and puzzle completion are meant to feel truly rewarding. The team at Friend & Foe have succeeded in their goal, but at a serious detriment to any enjoyment you may have had with Vane.
While I love the idea of sampling something early, I’ve never understood exactly how it works. To me, it’s a bit like throwing a party and purposely inviting a few exclusive guests over early. The sun is still out, the floors haven’t been cleaned yet, and I’m still walking around in an unfortunately revealing bathrobe with appetizers in the freezer. Most of those exclusive guests would apologize for showing up early and walk out. And if they were also gamers they’d then complain about my unfinished party on Reddit.
In the debate over whether or not video games should be considered art, GRIS is the type of game that should be at the forefront of the argument. Developer Nomada Studio have crafted a title that emulates art in ways that we haven’t seen before. It goes much deeper than the beautiful hand-drawn and watercolor graphical style. This is a game where things like the meaning, story details, setting, and more are up for interpretation to the player – much like an obscure painting hanging on a wall. What GRIS demonstrates is that there is beauty in ambiguity, and solace in solitude.
Despite the amazing software we’ve been treated to, and the versatile hardware offerings that Sony has given us, there is one aspect of the Playstation 4 that I can’t wait to see gone. And that is the DualShock 4.
Did you spend a large chunk of your childhood pillaging human villages with your hordes of Orc’s in World of Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness? Do you have little or no experience with anything resembling a modern MOBA? If you’ve answered yes to both of these questions, then you’re probably me. There probably aren’t a ton of you out there like me – most have at least dabbled in the multiplayer online battle arena genre at least somewhat in the last decade. How could you not? This is a style of video game that has exploded in popularity and many could argue single-handedly created and fueled the fire that is the world of E-Sports.
Say what you will about series with annual releases – they cause franchise fatigue, they’re usually rushed and buggy at launch, or they aren’t fresh and unique enough from year to year. But given that Ubisoft rotates the development of the Assassin’s Creed franchise among several of their studios, fresh ideas can be found in each installment, even if only a year removed from the previous iteration.
What’s equally impressive about Final Days is that this – a game boasting online co-op play with sixteen other players, four player split screen local co-op, one hundred plus enemies on screen at any given time, and with five unique game modes – was developed by only one person. Michael De Piazza of +7 Software has a lot to be proud of.
